If He Lived
by Levan
Summary: What if Steve's inevitable fate in that Antarctic Facility was negated, and he had survived? This is the story of what was to become of him, with Claire Redfield now by his side, a love that formed in the confines of danger and conspiracies.
1. Chapter 1: Escape

This is my first attempt at making a romantic story, decided to try it for myself. :)  
I edited now and cleared up some mistakes, and added more detail, well, except near the end though, I got too lazy. D:

DISCLAIMER: All Resident Evil characters that are/will be mentioned in the story are owned by Capcom, not by me.

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**Chapter 1: Escape**

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Claire Redfield.

After hearing her sweet yet deluding voice calling me, I woke up, and to my dismay, I was trapped, unable to escape the huge halberd that lay just in front of me. I looked at Claire's fairly youthful face as she reluctantly tried to pull it away and free me. I helped in trying to remove it as well, though I was very sure there was no chance of freedom from the hard, steel pole of the halberd itself without the help of someone else other than me and Claire. She clutched the pole and with all her strength, she pulled. But it did not even budge from that spot. But other than the worry of permanent entrapment, I had this other worry as well that will endanger the very being of Claire. Right now, she was risking her life once again, just to save me.

Alexia Ashford… She must've done something to me. She must have experimented on me, just like what she did to her poor father. I could still remember those tentacles that knocked me off the helipad, almost falling to the endless abyss of snow right under the area. She went to my aid even though right behind her, the hideous creature Nosferatu was closing in on her, with the involuntary intention of eliminating her. I told her to go, but she followed her instincts and ignored my warnings. To think, she risked her life just to save me, a simple seventeen year old teenager that was plunged into a world of creatures and abominations but still, with the stubborn and arrogant personality of a 10 year old child.

My dad, he was the cause of all of this, including the death of my mother whom I loved very much. I had this deep hatred of him from the very start, even before we stepped foot on this hell-driven island, but if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have ever met Claire, the beautiful nineteen year old girl with the uncanny ability of creating humorous yet truthful speeches that pointed out towards me. I simply acted like I was dreadfully annoyed at her points, but inside of me, I was laughing, and my relationship with her continued to build up every time we argued with each other, like a cute couple from an Asian sitcom where usually a relationship is built through continuous fights with each other.

I shifted back into reality when she had given up on releasing me. "Who did this to you?" She asked, and her voice echoed through the room in a seemingly endless manner. For that, I had to answer her with the very truth, which is that Alexia has experimented on me, like what she did to her father. I had no other choice.

I suddenly felt the inside of my body thumping, and each time I felt a tremendous amount of pain. Words could not describe the suffering that I felt there, it was like a mixture of different types of torture all compiled into one. I could do nothing but try to endure the pain, and ask for help. I kept calling Claire's name, hoping for her to help me in any kind of way, but I could only see Claire's horrified gaze at me, and I understood. I was about to turn into something else.

As I let out the last breath of air just to say her name, I felt my throat continually changing until my voice completely deepened beyond any man could. I suddenly felt the pain like my head was stretched beyond its reach a thousand times, over and over. I screamed in agony, but not even a small squeal left my now deformed mouth.

And then after, I felt the pain of each of my arms and legs being stretched, and later on, my whole upper body, up until my body started to produce violent and disturbing crunching sounds. There was nothing I could do but to close my eyelids, the only body part left that I could fully control, and wish it would all end quickly.

And then, I opened my eyes. And Claire was still there, calling my name once again, but why would she call my name? I wasn't Steve anymore, that's for certain.

I felt the cold steel pole on my hands, even though I didn't decide to pick it up. It was like I was being controlled by something else. And then I felt this sudden urge to just… Kill her and get it over with.

I swung the deadly weapon furiously throughout the room as I chased her towards the end. I was relieved that Claire was fast enough to dodge my incoming attacks, and she got out just in time before the metal gate closed in on her. I began pounding on the gate with desire of slicing her into pieces with the halberd.

But, why wouldn't she leave? She just stood there and watched me as I pounded on the gate; it looked like she didn't care for her life at all, but mine.

One of Alexia's tentacles suddenly popped out from the wall, knocking Claire to the other side of the room. I could now feel my heart aching as the tentacle wrapped itself on Claire's body, and held her up for me so I can kill her.

Yes, there was a burning flame of anger inside my body telling me to kill her, but deep in the depths of my heart, there was another burning flame as well, the burning flame of love to not try and kill her.

Just as I was about to chop her with the axe, I felt an uncontrollable emotion inside me to just stop doing what I was about to do. And amazingly, I _did_ stop. The burning fire of love has won, and suddenly, I was able to control myself again. With all my strength, I used the axe to cut off the tentacle that held her. She fell down on the ground, and surprisingly, the tentacle retreated back in its hole, where it should have belonged in the first place.

Something wasn't right. It didn't strike back at me, but why? But then I felt my body returning back to normal before I could even try and figure it out. The halberd felt very heavy now, so I let it fall down on the ground, creating a loud noise that echoed through the empty room. I was now human again, like a miraculous event just happened to me, but how did that happen?

I struggled as I walked to Claire, but I couldn't hold it anymore, and rested my back on the cold wall. I suddenly felt Claire's soft, warm hands caressing my very face. I was freezing cold, and as I held her hand against my cheeks, I felt warm and comforted.

"Steve… Thank you," she thanked me, but I couldn't look at her in the eyes. I was ashamed that I nearly ended up trying to kill her. "You shouldn't be thanking me Claire, I almost killed you…"

When I looked at her, she grinned. She looked more cheerful than before. "But you didn't right? You ended up saving me instead, and that's what I'm thanking you for."

Suddenly, someone shouted through the prison door which was apparently locked when Claire went inside the room. "Claire! Are you in there?" a man shouted. "Yes Chris, I'm here with Steve. I can't open the door; I think it's electronically locked somehow. But I think I know how to unlock it."

Claire took out a small book from her jacket and slid it under the door. "If you activate the self-destruct system in this facility, all of the doors should unlock immediately. You have to hurry," She explained.

"Alright Claire, wait for me there." I heard the faint sound of the footsteps from outside the door, until finally the sound faded away. "That was my brother, he came here to rescue us," She said happily, but for me I felt embarrassed from making that insulting speech a few hours ago, it was all because I didn't trust anyone ever since my dad led me into this place.

"I'm sorry I ever doubted you, your brother really did come to save you after all," I apologized, but Claire shook her head and smiled. "You don't need to apologize. Let's just get over with that, okay?"

I nodded. I felt a bit happy that Claire was being nicer to me now. Maybe it's because she almost lost me back there, but even if it was that very reason, I didn't care at all.

A few minutes later, an alarm went off and an announcement was made. "This facility will detonate in five minutes."

The lock on the door was released, and Claire jumped for joy. "He's done it! Let's go Steve, we're finally going home." She grabbed my hand and helped me stand up. I realized then that I was half naked. My clothes must have been torn apart when I mutated, and the only thing left that kept me from being nude was my pants- well, I could probably call it my shorts now. Now I know how the Hulk feels when he returns back to normal. But I didn't care too much, all I wanted was to get out of this wretched hellhole.

I followed Claire as she went up the stairs. When I caught up with her, Claire was embracing her brother, happily that now she was united with his brother at last. I went closer, but Chris gave a suspicious and shocked expression when he noticed me.

"Claire, you weren't doing anything…" He stared at me more closely, "with Steve, have you?" Claire blushed when she heard Chris' question. I felt quite embarrassed, and I didn't know what to say.

"What the heck do you mean!? He just got in some trouble, that's why he's dressed like that. He had a full set of clothing before he mutated…" Chris interrupted her, his eyes widened with shock. "_Mutated_?"

"I'll explain it all later, for now I think its time we should get out of here."

We all ran towards the stairs, but suddenly a large tentacle smashed through the floor, and something started to come out from inside of it. It was the body of Alexia, now changed through the T-Veronica virus.

"What should we do," Claire asked worriedly. Chris looked around the room and saw the linear launcher, possibly the only thing he could use to defeat Alexia.

"Claire, head for the emergency elevator, the jet should be waiting there. Steve, turn the key clockwise simultaneously on three," He ordered me, and I followed him to the Linear Launcher. Claire had already left, and Alexia has revived completely and was staring at both of us.

"One, two… three!"

We were able to open the lock, and finally, the Linear Launcher was released. "Go ahead Steve, I'll take care of this. Go ahead and follow Claire to the emergency elevator." I wanted to help him, but I just nodded, I didn't want to try and ignore his orders, being someone who's highly more experienced than him after all.

I rushed to the stairs, but suddenly, a path of fire hindered me from doing so. Alexia was now a few inches in front of me, and there was no chance to defend myself. I then heard the sound of gunfire, and Alexia dropped down on the floor. I looked back at Chris and saw him holding a Magnum. "Go Steve!" Chris shouted, so I went on, and when I took a quick look at the back, I saw Alexia transforming into something much more hideous and fearful, but I had no choice but to leave him there, but I was quite sure that he can handle Alexia, especially with that Linear Launcher in his arsenal.

I went down the stairs and headed to the elevator, but then I saw Claire, being held captive by a man with his blond hair slicked onto his back. "Claire!" I called, but the man pushed her towards the hole on the wall and moved with lightning fast speed. I followed both of them, shouldering zombies along the way that tried to grab me, and finally arrived at the room, and saw the man once again holding Claire captive.

"I need you, Steve. You have something I want inside of you, so if you don't want to see your little girlfriend dead, I suggest you give yourself up to me," he said with an evil smirk in his face.

"Let her go! You don't want her!" I shouted. The man looked way older and tougher than me, but Claire was in trouble. I had to save her.

"Fine then," he said, and threw Claire over to him. "Now, come with me Steve."

"Like I'll do that," I said confidently. "Claire, go ahead, I'll take care of this," I whispered to Claire, but she shook her head. "No, Steve. He's too strong for you. You can't fight him in that condition…" I embraced her, trying to remove the worry she had for me. "I promise I'll catch up, so go."

Claire looked concern, but then she ran back again towards the emergency elevator. She trusted me… And I'll want to thank her later for that, only if I live through this though.

"How touching, never thought you make quite a cute couple," the man said, but I ignored him.

Suddenly, I felt a painful jab right on my stomach. I was sent flying, and crashed towards a stack of boxes that broke apart when I landed. But it was strange… After that sudden jab it didn't even felt like I was punched at all. I felt… invulnerable. The virus must have done something to make me like that, and I thought, there could be an immense power hidden inside of me now.

"So, have you had enough already, Steve?" he said as he went closer to me.

"Not yet…" I jolted toward him in a flash, and gave a heavy punch at him right on his face. Like me when he jabbed me on the stomach, he was sent flying as well and landed on the hard ground. Amazing… I never thought I was this powerful.

He climbed back unto his feet and threw away his now broken sunglasses, and I saw the deep red shade of his eyes. He didn't look human at all.

"Alright then, Steve. If you won't come back with me, then I'll just have to kill you right here and now." The man ran to me and suddenly started giving me lightning fast jabs and punches, but, I was able to block every single attack and countered him with my very own, causing him to stagger from my blows. Even though I it's clear that his punches were too fast for the naked eye to see, I was able to block them all with no sweat, like I'm more powerful than him.

Suddenly I felt something burning from my hands, and saw red liquid dripping down from them. The liquid was so hot that I reacted to it and shook it off my hand. The red liquid splashed unto the rest of the boxes and suddenly, the place was now surrounded with fire. Wasn't that Alexia's power? How did I get it?

The man grunted when he saw the fire surrounding the area, and retreated to the submarine that was inside that place. It looks like he gave up on me and left me, so I headed back to the emergency elevator to join Claire, and hopefully, Chris as well.

I arrived seconds before the elevator exploded right behind me, so I jumped to the jet, and I grabbed on the plane wing. "Steve! Thank god you're alright," Claire said as she helped me get inside the jet. Once I got inside, Chris started the jet and flew away from the facility. I looked back and watched the facility get blown into smithereens.

It was over. We all got out safely.

Claire lied on my shoulder, feeling very sleepy. "Steve…" She murmured before she finally went to sleep. Chris smiled when he saw us. "So, are you guys dating or what?" He asked. I blushed, but I tried my best not to let Chris see my face.

"Well, if I could get your permission, maybe we could," I answered nervously, but I smiled. Chris laughed even more. "Alright then, you have my permission, like you needed it anyway, I'm sure Claire would get angry at me if I tried to control who she's supposed to go with."

I grinned and watched Claire sleeping soundly on my shoulders. I love her very much, not just because of her beauty, but she was the perfect woman I wanted to love for so long. She was a caring woman like my mother, and I don't mind the two year age gap we have between us, as long as I'm with Claire, I'm contented.. Maybe this time, we could bond with each other properly now, than working together and fighting endless amounts of zombies. We could do it traditionally, going out on dates and having dinner.

I couldn't help but worry a bit more, not at our relationship, but at myself. One thing I know is that the T-Veronica virus was still inside of me. I was a menace, and I may have lost my humanity already. Sure, I look human now, but what if I turn into that horrible monster again? My immense power, invulnerability, and the ability to generate flames were only the beginning. What would happen next?

I was too tired to think of the consequences anymore, and my eyelids grew heavy. I finally closed my eyes and went to sleep as Chris continued to ride the jet back home.

-End of Chapter 1


	2. Chapter 2: Feeling Normal?

Chapter 2 now up! Enjoy, but I feel like I rushed this chapter a bit. :(

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**Chapter 2: Feeling Normal?**

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January, 1999

"So, how'd it go?" Claire asked me immediately when I left that room. I wanted to say it sucked a lot and I nearly died inside there, but Claire's beautiful and gratifying facial expression led me to say otherwise.

"It's… Okay. Nothing much really happened" I said nervously. Of course, Claire would have doubted my answer. "Well, it's not like I don't believe you or anything, but you're probably the only one who went in there and came out without even saying a bad thing about what happened back there. You're not… Lying to me are you?"

That was it. Her wicked glance made me spit out the truth.

"Alright already, it didn't go too well. Honestly it was painful… Why the heck did they need to stick like, a hundred needles on my arms? And how about the one straight on the arse, was _that_ even necessary?" I said, and I may have told a bit too much, especially the arse thing.

I snorted when I noticed Claire's chuckles that filled the hall. "I'm sure that buttock thing was necessary, the guys know what they're doing. You're very lucky though, since you only had to experience that once. Me on the other hand, I went through that two times," she said, her laughter so loud enough that it could be heard through the other rooms. At least she's not laughing at me now, I guess.

"Claire!"

An ordinary-looking girl went running towards her. Her short, blond hair matched her pretty dress very well, and I wondered... Is that her daughter? In my mind, I panicked at that thought. Who the hell was the father? But then I realized, if she was her daughter, then Claire could have been just a minority when she gave birth, since the girl looked like she was older than ten years old.

How stupid of me.

"Sherry!" Claire called as she held out her arms to embrace the girl. Sherry happily wrapped her arms around her neck, like a little child that didn't see her mother in years. Maybe she really was her daughter, but I got rid of that ridiculous thought.

"Steve, this is Sherry Birkin. She's the girl I was talking about, another survivor of Raccoon City."

Sherry smiled at me like a child usually does. "Nice to meet you, Steve," she said, and she held out her hand, offering to shake hands. I accepted her offer and we shook hands like we were making a very important deal.

"Go on ahead Sherry. I'll talk to you later. Me and Steve has a _lot_ to talk about now, and we need our privacy."

Privacy? I gulped down, and I suddenly felt the sweat dripping down from my head due to the deep worry I was feeling.

"Before I go Claire," the girl said maturely, "I want to ask you. If you had to choose between Leon and Steve, who would you pick?" Her innocent smile made Claire blush of embarrassment. "Oh, Sherry, you don't really need to ask a question like that," she said nervously as she pushed her towards the door. I wondered about it actually, she _does_ have a boyfriend already, she told me that in Rockfort.

"Ahem, so Steve… about this, 'dating' thing, one thing you should know is that I still have a boyfriend now, but don't fret, we're actually just best friends, we don't usually have that love connection with us. Also, you didn't really need to ask Chris for permission though if we could have a relationship. You really embarrassed me back there; Chris said I was scary for you." She stared at me with an evil look, I couldn't even say anything, and she looked a lot scarier than those zombies we encountered in Rockfort and Antarctica. Chris really did say the truth in my opinion.

"So first of all-" The door of the room that I was just in suddenly swung open, and out came one of the scientists that were inside. Thank God, I didn't really want to hear what Claire wanted to say, though it'll probably best to hear her words especially if we're going to start a relationship.

"Mr. Burnside, could you come inside, please? Just for a minute or so. We need to ask some questions…"

Claire rolled her eyes, and I could tell she was annoyed that the scientist just interrupted her. "Go ahead Steve, I'll be waiting here." It looks like our "talk" is kind of inevitable after all. I followed the scientist into the room, hoping it'll last long enough till Claire would just forget about it.

When I went inside the laboratory, all of the scientists were staring at me suspiciously. I wonder what they wanted to ask me about, and then I remembered.

The T-Veronica virus was still inside of me, and they must have found out.

The scientist that led me inside offered me a seat, and I sat. All of the eyes that stared at me made me quite nervous.

"So, Mr. Burnside, did you take any medications at least before, during, or after your stay in Rockfort Island or the Antarctic Facility?" One of the scientists asked as he held his hands together.

"None that I know off," I said, shaking away my nervousness as I talked, since I didn't really want to look like I was lying to them. One of the scientists started looking through his laptop, like he was looking at the results of the experiment they did a while ago. Who knows what they might do to me if they find out I had that T-Veronica virus still inside of me…

"Mr. Burnside, I'm afraid we might need to take you into U.S. custody for now, we have found something inside your body that's different from what we've seen before."

Crap. I had to get out of there, I knew these types of people would gladly do anything they can to feed their minds of any info they could find.

I ran to the door, but before I got close, two large men went in wearing an agent-looking outfit and sunglasses. One thought entered into my mind when I saw them, they were here to take me away.

"What the hell's going on in there?" Claire shouted when she entered. She must've noticed the two agents that came here, but who the _hell_ wouldn't even notice them anyway, wearing those clothes.

"Ms. Redfield, please calm down for a moment," one of the scientists said when Claire forced herself in by passing through the two agents that covered the doorway, concerned about me. "What are you going to do to him?" She asked, anger evident in her voice.

"Do not worry Ms. Redfield. We're simply just going to take him into our custody, as he has something that many of us would want to know about. Now please, if you would, do not try to disrupt our work-"

I could see Claire's outraged reaction when she interrupted him. "Your _work_? What are you going to do, experiment on him like the _bastards_ you are?" Her insult must've hit a nerve on that scientist, I can see his face glowing red with annoyance.

"Please leave now, Ms. Redfield, or do we have to force you out of here?" he said, trying to act calm and professional. I could've punched his face right now if I knew I wouldn't get into trouble. Claire was still angry, but then she grunted and left the lab without saying a word.

"Come with us, Mr. Burnside," the agent said, and I had no other choice but to follow them, unless I would've wanted to get forced. When we went outside, I could see Claire's eyes full of concern and worry.

"Claire, don't worry. I'll be back, I promise." It was the only thing that flashed onto my mind, the extremely cheesy line which most actors in army movies would say to their love interests when they leave them to fight for their country. In rare, or probably, more common cases, they wouldn't return, and leave their loved ones to suffer, just because they made that defiled promise. After thinking through it, I knew saying that line would have a bad effect on Claire.

I glanced back at Claire as I followed the two agents. Even though her sorrowful face can be easily seen throughout her light-skinned face, I could see her vivid blue eyes glistening through the rays of morning sunlight that passed through the old, creaky windows of this hospital. Gorgeous, I thought. But then again, I thought they were of hazel color? But I didn't care. She still looked very attractive either way.

"So, might I ask? Where the hell are you two taking me?" I asked, and I feel like I'm starting to be like Claire already.

"I'm afraid that is classified information, Mr. Burnside. Please refrain from asking questions."

Typical answer by two anonymous agents. So, I sighed and kept quiet as we rode the elevator to the ground floor.

A few moments later, we were already driving away from the hospital, to someplace I don't even have an idea of. I had this gut feeling that something bad is going to happen, I had that momentary urge inside of me to just get out of there.

Sudden gunshots made me and the both of the agents jump from shock. We found ourselves swerving through the musty and slippery old road, and in a few seconds, we were about to fall off a steep cliff.

"Everybody get out now!" I shouted, and quickly opened the car door and jumped out of the car, tumbling on the hard cement. I could feel my skin burning as I rolled on the ground, but at least it was better off than falling through that steep cliff.

But then I noticed, both of the agents were busy trying to remove their seatbelts, and it was too late for them to get out. They fell down on the shallow river below, and when I ran to check on them, an explosion erupted. They were dead, and ironically they got killed because of the supposed-to-be protecting-you seatbelt, I guess I can't call them your lifesavers now.

"Thought you could escape me, Steve Burnside?" The familiar voice lingered through my head. It was him again, the man with his blond hair slicked onto the back of his head, and wearing the odd sunglasses that I thought I broke already during our fight in that Antarctic Facility.

I bit my lip through the frustration inside my head. "Haven't you learned already? I'm stronger than you even if you do have that incredible speed and power. Just give it up, there's no way you could beat me," I said, mocking him with his particular attitude of looking bad-ass.

"Then I'll just have to keep trying." Like from before, he rushed at me again with his hands balled into fists, ready to hit me with all he's got. Easy again, I thought. But then he just disappeared in front of me.

I quickly faced back and I find myself getting hit on the chest with a straight punch. Like from before, it felt like the pain just disappeared once I got back up to my feet.

A pick-up truck came to a screeching halt right behind me, and somebody climbed out of the truck. It was Claire.

"Steve? What happened?" She said and came running towards me. She looked at the man right behind me. "Wesker…" She brought out her handgun inside of her pocket and pointed it directly onto the man, whom I now know as Wesker.

"What a touching reunion, Claire Redfield. If only your brother was here, I could have killed you all right now."

Seeing through Wesker's gaze to Claire, I knew he'll target her first, and I was right. He came rushing to her, but before he did, I was able to interrupt him and he slammed onto a tree due to my immense strength.

Claire was shocked to see how powerful I was. "How did you…?"

"No time to explain, get in the truck!" Both of us ran to the vehicle as fast as possible and went inside. Sherry was there, and based from her expression, she was afraid of me. But, I couldn't just let Claire die back there, I had to do it.

Claire started the engine and rode off, away from the momentarily-stunned Wesker, up until we completely lost sight of him. We stopped at a nearby gasoline station, since Claire wanted to call Chris and tell him what happened.

I stood there and watched Claire talking to Chris on the phone as I drank my cold soda. I've never been so dehydrated in all my life… It's like I easily grow weary every time I used this kind of power I had. Sherry stayed inside the truck, maybe because she had fear from me now. She was just a 12 year old girl, and I don't really know what she encountered in that Raccoon City incident, but she disturbs me a lot with her fearful glares. Was I _that_ scary?

"Steve," Claire called after she hung up on the phone, "Both me and my brother knows that the T-Veronica virus is still inside of you. For now, I guess we have to keep this a secret, don't try to use that power of yours out on public, okay?" I nodded, of course I wouldn't want to use my powers in front of people or else it might cause a conspiracy. The other thing I worried about though, was if I mutated again. It's definitely a possibility, and if I lose control… What would happen to Claire, or Chris, or maybe even Sherry when I do?

"There's got to be a way to remove this virus inside of me. Isn't there?" I asked Claire, hoping his brother might have any good leads to that. "My brother's trying to find out. For now, we have to get to his apartment and hide there until he could find anything."

I followed Claire to the truck and hopped inside. Sherry was awkwardly silent; she just stared at her hands that were placed on her lap, like a well disciplined school girl. Claire started the engine and we went on.

I wonder now, what awaits me with this dreadful virus inside of my body.

-End of Chapter 2


	3. Chapter 3: A Hint of Hope

Sorry this took a while, but I've finally finished Chapter 3! School's been bugging me a lot lately. Yes the title sucks. Honestly I couldn't think of a good title, laziness overcomes me.

Thanks for the reviews, I highly appreciate it. :)

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**Chapter 3: A Hint of Hope**

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_Alexia Ashford…_

_The harsh cold of the winter woke me up amidst the tremendous amounts of rubble that lay around me. I scanned around, and in any direction I look, everything was in shambles and ruins. All my work, all my research, gone in an instant, just like that, from the filthy hands of Chris Redfield. _

_That pathetic and insolent wretch… I wish I could just have him in my hands right now, crushing the very life out of him as he squirms and begs for mercy. Ah, that would be enough to satisfy me from my inconceivable anger that I'm feeling right now._

_But one thing I knew was that everything was going according to plan._

_I'm sure that Steve knows very well that the T-Veronica virus was inside of him, but in fact, I gave him my very own blood, the same blood that has been frozen for nearly fifteen years, and now, a very part of me lingers inside of him, waiting for the opportune moment till I, Alexia Ashford, would finally be the true queen of this world._

_I will finally get my revenge after what they did to my most humble and most loyal servant, Alfred… I could not, in anyway, imagine his undeniable death, but certainly, he died for my sake, the very sake of my being, and I shall not let his death go without certain punishment on his murderers. _

_Before this year is over, my plan shall finally prevail, and everyone shall bow down before me like the worker ants they are. I could add an exception for those two Redfield siblings, though. Perhaps a quick execution for the both of them would be quite pleasurable._

_I wandered off to the endless field of snow through a small opening, and there, I saw it. Another snowmobile... a vehicle that Claire and Steve drove with the hope of getting to that Australian outpost, but I simply thwarted their intention of freedom by allowing one of my pets to attack them._

_I turned it on with ease, and then rode off to the Australian outpost. I'd like to hear those people at that outpost scream when I slowly eliminate them all._

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There was an unnerving silence between the three of us; Claire's sapphire eyes were completely fixated on the bleak, damp road ahead, Sherry was napping soundly on my broad shoulders, while little old me was gazing outside the window, looking at the lush, verdant flora that were scattered throughout the scenery.

I let out a muffled chuckle one time when I remembered Claire who had also slept peacefully on my shoulders when we crashed into that facility… I kind of thought it would be our very first kiss. But Claire just had to destroy that romantic moment of ours by waking up, but I did feel slightly embarrassed though, trying to kiss her like that while she was unconscious. I was just trying to abuse that perfect opportunity… And it backfired.

I thought that Sherry being asleep would be the perfect time to try and have a casual conversation with Claire, but not a single word left her dry lips ever since we left that gas station. Sure, she released a simple yawn or a long sigh at certain times, but that was it, nothing else but the sound of the rubbing tires on the hard cement and the roar of the old engine.

Somehow, discouragement has started to overtake my mind, hindering me from trying to have at least a practical conversation, maybe concerning about our relationship with each other. I knew very well that Claire might bring out that "other" terrible topic, about me being some freak of nature, and surely, it is the very reason for this sudden discouragement.

After hours of waiting, the sight of a bustling city caught my eye. I had no interest in finding out what city it was, all I wanted was to lie down on a comfortable bed and recharge myself from all the energy I've lost from a near-death experience with Wesker.

The truck came to an abrupt stop just right in front of a small apartment building in the middle of the busy city. Coincidentally, Claire and I stepped out of the truck simultaneously, and afterwards Claire went on to the back and picked up her luggage. I, on the other hand, stretched out my arms and legs that were locked on at the same position for nearly the whole trip.

It's been months since I last smelled the foul stench of a city, and I had a sudden desire to just return to that prison I once belonged. Honestly, the soothing air on that island could actually be a hundred times better in clearing up my sinuses than this polluted air that city people call "oxygen".

Claire passed by without even taking a single look at me, carrying her luggage to the entrance of the apartment building. But I could see her hands, giving me a signal to come follow her. Sherry climbed out of the truck a few seconds later, and imitated my stretching. Her now-buoyant face made me grin unexpectedly.

"Come on you two, don't keep me waiting!" Claire yelled, and I could effortlessly discern her voice from the hundreds of sounds that were flowing through the street. At last she talked, and it was still the very same voice from before. I could still recall that event when she yelled my name in that Antarctic Facility when I mutated into something what she called a "tyrant", and almost murdering her with my own hands. I tried my best to just ignore that memory, but somehow it keeps pestering my mind.

Claire took the lead and went upstairs as she held the frail hand of Sherry, her blond hair now held up by a stylish pink hair band that she recently wore before I got to the entrance. Once we got to the desired floor, Claire removed her hands from Sherry's and brought out a small piece of paper from one of the pockets on her pants.

She glanced at it and swayed her head back and forth, looking at the apartment numbers one by one. Finally, she stopped by a chestnut door with the number twenty-six attached. She crouched and started moving her hand around the small opening under the door, and when she stood up again, she was holding a small silver key with the same number as of the door.

"That isn't a very good place to hide a spare key, don't you think?" I pointed out to Claire, saying my very first words since we left that gasoline station. "Yeah, but at least we got in, right?" she explained, her eyes locked onto mine. She grinned at me, and I replied back with a simple smile as well.

She tilted her head away suddenly, and I didn't notice that I was just standing there, captivated by her elegance. She jabbed the key inside the keyhole and twisted, unlocking the door.

The apartment looked pretty normal for a twenty-four year old anti-bioterrorism agent; it had a snazzy couch with a wooden table just in front of it, a twenty-one inch television, and an ordinary dining table and kitchen.

The only things missing were the good old décors like some paintings or picture frames, but otherwise, it was an average American home, _too_ average for a guy like Chris.

"Well, we'll probably be staying her for quite a while, so go ahead and make yourselves at home," Claire said as she hung her jacket on the coat hanger just a few inches from the front door.

Sherry went straight ahead and grabbed the remote, jumped on the couch after removing her sneakers and turned on the television like a simple child entering a luxurious hotel room for the first time.

Claire went to the kitchen and brought out a loaf of bread from the cupboard, and two jars, one of peanut butter and one of jelly. I couldn't really think of eating right now, but I could feel my stomach protesting as I stared at the tasty looking sandwiches she was making.

"Claire, do you know where the bathroom is?" I asked her. I'm still a bit dreary from the trip, and I could sure use a wash. "It's beside Chris' bedroom, the very last one from the left," she directed.

"Okay."

I followed what she said and ended up inside the bathroom. I turned on the sink and washed my face, and then I ran my fingers through my hair, with the intention of looking neat and tidy. After drying myself with a towel, I left the room and joined Claire and Sherry on the couch as they feasted on the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that Claire made.

I grabbed myself one and started munching after I sat beside Claire. Honestly though I would prefer a real sandwich, with all the energizing meat and vegetables, but it's not like I could scrounge myself up with a few bucks to buy myself one.

"Steve… About those two agents," Claire said with a clear hint of nervousness.

"I swear, Claire, I wasn't responsible for killing them," I immediately retorted, not allowing her to completely finish her statement, "Wesker ambushed us, and, those two agents couldn't get out of the car in time before it fell off that cliff."

"I wasn't going to ask you if you killed them or not," Claire said, "It's just… They'll blame you for it, and we don't have sufficient proof at all for your innocence. You'll become a wanted man in a matter of days, Steve. I don't want that to happen."

"Don't worry too much Claire," I said cheerfully, "Everything's going to be all right, we'll get through all of this. Just relax, okay? There's no need to fret too much."

After a moment of awkward silence between the two of us, the telephone rang. Claire stood up after gobbling up the rest of her sandwich and answered it.

"Redfield residence," Claire said through the phone. I could hear low murmurs coming from the phone as Claire listened, and then I could see her very face lighting up after a few seconds. "Really?! Thank you so much Chris, we'll head there right now." Claire hung up, and she turned to me with a joyous expression on her face.

"Chris said some doctor in a nearby hospital might have an idea. Let's go Steve. He's just a few blocks away from here." After taking her jacket from the coat hanger, she quickly turned to Sherry who was busy watching the TV. "Sherry, wait here. We'll be back in a while, but if you're hungry you can whip yourself up some more sandwiches, the bread and jars are just inside that cupboard." Sherry nodded obediently.

Without anymore hesitation, we went downstairs and went straight to the truck. I could feel my heart racing inside of me; I've never felt so excited in my life, not even when that fateful event where we were just a few kilometers away from land when I was still on that jet with Claire.

But still, a small amount of worry continued to exist inside of me. Surely, how would anyone know about the T-Veronica virus? I thought only the four of us-including Wesker-were the only people who knew about the virus that isn't diseased or completely gone from the face of the earth like Alexia?

There was only one thing I could do though: trust Chris. He wouldn't try and risk me and Claire if he just sends me to anyone, just because that person could have some knowledge about this virus. It's more than likely that we could meet an advocate of Wesker, and when that happens, there's a possible chance that I won't be able to protect Claire successfully. My throat immediately became heavy at that thought. Claire's death is just, _unthinkable_, especially for the likes of me.

Claire hastily turned the engine on, and drove off. She swerved immediately to the right, almost hitting a stop post due to the truck's sheer speed.

"Claire calm down! Don't be in such a rush!" I shouted through the noise of sudden beeps and honks of various cars from the annoyed drivers that we passed through the street.

"Sorry," she apologized, and started to slow down. I sighed heavily.

Before long though, we finally arrived at a hospital. After parking the truck at a non-occupied space, we climbed out of the car and went to the entrance. Before we were able to enter the double-doors though, a man called Claire's last name.

"Redfield?" The man called. He stood up from the bench a few inches away from the door, and started to head towards us.

This man had a neatly-combed hair, and he was wearing a doctor's gown. Of course, my first impression would be that he was a doctor based on what he wore, and I would definitely be right.

"Chris told me about you two. I think I could help you two. Follow me." He entered through the double doors and Claire and I followed him without any second thoughts. The doctor knew Chris, and surely, we could easily trust this man.

As we entered through the empty elevator, I guess Claire couldn't help but ask. "Could you please tell us your name?" she asked, not even with a hint of shyness.

"The name's George Hamilton, Ph. D," he held out his hand to Claire, asking to shake hands, "Call me George. I survived the Raccoon City incident as well, just like you."

Claire stood there, frozen, and her eyes opened wide.

-End of Chapter 3


	4. Chapter 4: A Simple Checkup

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**Chapter 4: A Simple Check-up**

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"Say ahh…" George ordered me once I sat down on one of the chairs inside his office. The room was as of expected, immaculate and well-organized. My first impression of George was that he was a man of great caliber, dignity, respect, and besides the three, a total neat-freak, but in a good way. Surely all of these accolades match his almost-perfect personality very well.

"I'm not a kid anymore, doctor. You could just tell me to open my mouth," I said, rolling my eyes. I opened my mouth afterwards without releasing any sound, especially "Ah", but Claire still laughed as she stared at me.

"You know, when I met you the first time back at Rockfort, you behaved about seven to eight years younger than your current age," She said, with an annoying grin flashed across her face, "and I do believe you still need to be treated as a child."

I closed my mouth and grunted, Claire was being trying to be ingenious again, but at least she thought about making jokes now than having the constant worry about me. My anger died down immediately at that realization, and diverted my attention back to George.

"I apologize, Mr. Burnside. I'm not a doctor, actually. I'm a surgeon," George said as he inserted the tongue depressor inside my mouth, "I rarely get to do this, and when I do, it's mostly on children with the ages of eight to twelve years old." He turned on a small flashlight and thoroughly inspected the inside of my gaped mouth. Afterwards, he removed it and started writing on a chart that was neatly placed on one of the tables.

He then clenched the chest piece of the stethoscope that was around his neck, and walked towards me again. He grabbed the end of my shirt and pulled it up, revealing my broad, well-built chest. Claire's face starting glowing with a shade of red from the sight, and she turned around, facing away from us.

"Know what type of medical process of examination this is?" George asked as he planted the chest piece of the stethoscope on the surface of my chest.

"Yeah, I think it's called… Aucultation?" I guessed.

"**Aus**cultation," he said, emphasizing the first three letters, especially the letter s which I missed, "but I'm glad you have at least some knowledge about these. You take regular check-ups, right?" He asked, and finally he removed the chest piece off of my chest and headed to the table again, and continued to write on his chart.

"Yeah, I do." _In Rockfort Island anyway,_ I had one every single day, the staff there were a bit too paranoid. But it's quite ironic that their extreme paranoia didn't really help them when Wesker came and caused the outbreak of the T-virus.

I went through numerous check-ups aside from the auscultation, even up until leaving the office and the use of the MRI. It took a while, but finally we were back at the office, all three of us seated, waiting patiently for George to finish what he was writing on his chart.

"Alright then, we're done." He said as he raised his chart and held it firmly in between his left arm and hand. I didn't notice that Claire had already faced us again, her blush now completely gone from her cheeks.

"The only thing odd I found out about you is your heart rate. It seems to be beating ten times faster than the average," he said as he gazed at the chart, his face filled with amazement. Ten times faster? That's abnormality right there, and is clearly an effect of the T-Veronica virus.

"But… I don't feel strange at all. I'm not even tired," I said, and when I spat out the word tired, I remembered. Dehydration… Exhaustion… Those symptoms were evident on my body when I used this hidden "power", or might I say, "Curse" inside of me.

"Wait, I did feel a bit tired whenever I used..." I stopped midway, after recalling what Claire said. _Don't use your powers out on public_, she ordered, and particularly, I could easily derive the sentence into "Don't tell anyone about your powers" as it is related with each other anyway.

"Its okay, Steve. Go ahead," Claire said. She must have remembered her speech to me about my "powers", and she was okay with it.

"Alright, Claire," I said, and faced George once again, "You see, doctor, the increase of heart rate wasn't the only change I received when I was injected with the T-Veronica virus. I've also received…" I tried to think of a better word than power, but I failed, so I continued, "Powers, from it."

"Powers? What types of powers?" George asked, intrigued by my speech.

"I guess, I have Superman's immense strength, The Flash's quick reflexes, and finally, the ability to generate fire from an unknown liquid, which came from a villain rather than a hero, Alexia Ashford. She isn't from the comic books though, she's real as heck. Alexia was the one who created this T-Veronica virus, and is also infected by it as well. And besides that, she had an unstoppable desire of ruling the world, which I find very weird by the way."

After examining his actions when he heard every single thing I have told him, he had deeply thought about it. "Okay… So…" he stopped and placed the ends of his fingers onto his forehead. He was absolutely speechless from what I've said, but who wouldn't? I was a freak, honestly speaking, and besides that, it surpasses reality in an aspect that it wasn't believable by a majority of people.

"Here's another thing as well," I interrupted, well, sort of interrupted, "When you get injected with the T-Veronica virus immediately, without giving the virus time to adapt on your body through cryogenic sleep, you automatically lose your sanity and intelligence, otherwise your whole humanity itself."

Claire applauded when she heard my explanation. "Bravo, Steve! I didn't know you could explain things like that intelligently."

I frowned at her, but she still continued to grin at me mockingly. I ignored her and tried to finish my statement. "But I was injected by this virus without time to adapt, and yes, I mutated due to that, but I guess I had very strong willpower, since I fought off my involuntary actions of trying to kill Claire, and I saved her."

Claire's mocking grin had evolved into a comfortable smile, and stared at me straight on, patiently waiting for the rest of my story. "Afterwards I went back to my normal self, which I do admit, I have no idea at all on how it happened, but I'm pretty glad about it."

"Wait, so, you _mutated_? And you turned back to normal after you fought it off? Wow, this is very interesting, Mr. Burnside." He started rubbing his chin, and from the looks of it, thoughts were spiraling through his head non-stop.

"So, what do we do now?" I said, uneager to continue watching him think. "Wait just a moment," he replied.

George dropped the chart he was holding onto the table and went over to a rack filled with different types of medicines and fumbled clumsily, searching for something that is perhaps essential as a solution for our current problem. Seconds later, clutched inside his hand was a vial containing an unknown, yellowish liquid.

Before Claire could ask, however, George asked, "This is completely confidential and not a word must be said about this, do you understand?"

Both of us nodded, and since he said it was confidential, the desire of finding out what it really was has heightened to an extent that we would desperately do anything for him if he changes his mind.

"This vial that I'm holding right here is called Daylight, and is the only known cure for the T-virus."

Shock had struck both of us, our chins dropped and eyes widened at the very sound of it.

"T-virus… _Cure_?" Claire said incredulously, unconvinced by what he had said.

"Yes. One of my colleagues in the Raccoon City University had found out how to create one. After me and a few other survivors had synthesized two for each of us, one for our own consumption and another for our personal needs, we left the premises of the university just before it had been blown into pieces by a bomb. We were unable to get the synthesis notes, though."

"So wait," Claire said, "you're telling me, that's the very cure of the T-virus itself, and you did not decide to announce it to the public yet, even though you clearly know that it will no doubt help the very foundation of mankind and the prevention of another biohazard, like what recently happened in Rockfort Island?" I could sense an anger growing inside of Claire as she said those words.

"We did not announce it for our own protection, Miss Redfield. Umbrella is after it, and we were hunted down by possibly an assassin of Umbrella just because we had possession of this very cure. For now, it's safe to say that we still need to keep it as a secret, up until Umbrella has completely died down, and I'm predicting that Umbrella will be gone soon since the government is constantly blaming them for the virus outbreak."

A moment of silence swept between them as I stood by as a spectator of their conversation. George cleared his throat, and spoke once again. "I cannot easily identify its components though as I need a proper laboratory to do that, nor is it my field of study. I could not risk exposing this to any other people, especially other scientists. Now, we do know that simply, the T-Veronica is just another strain of the T-virus. Meaning, they both have the same genus but not the same species. Daylight is only meant for the T-virus itself, but, if I could alter it somehow, it could probably be able to cure the T-Veronica virus instead."

"How are you going to do that without the access of a laboratory?" Claire asked, now calm and less volatile.

"Both of you could leave that to me. I'll try whatever I can to succeed, so both of you could go on ahead and relax. I do not need any help, so if you feel a bit ashamed, don't be, since I don't really care at all since it does not affect me badly too much. Plus, I am quite intrigued in studying this virus, and the first step would be finding a cure for it," George said, and then he placed the vial of the Daylight inside a small rack.

"Thank you so much, doctor," Claire said, overrun by a vast amount of contentment. "Thanks, George," I said, not letting myself to be left out of the whole thing.

"No prob-"Before he could finish, the door opened and distracted all of us.

Our visitor was a woman, clad in a simple blue sweater and light-colored jeans. Her hair was also tied into a ponytail like Claire's, except it was blonde and was more neatly brushed. Her facial features were magnificent and lovely, and any man would instantly have, at least, a small amount of affection towards her at first glance. She nervously held a grocery bag in-between both of her smooth-looking arms, arms that shook so slowly that they were barely visible.

"Oh, sorry. Am I interrupting something? I'll just… Wait outside." She closed the door behind her, and the tone of her voice was enough to show that she was ashamed from interrupting us.

"Sorry, that was Cindy Lennox. She's another one of the group of survivors that I was in during the Raccoon City incident," George introduced, "She's a bit shy, but she's actually very friendly and kind. I better go on ahead and talk to her now. But first, I'll need your contact numbers. That way, I'll call you once I'm done with the cure."

George tore off a piece of paper from a whole pad paper and grabbed the pen that clung onto his front pocket. He gave both the paper and pen to Claire, who immediately started writing once she had taken it from his hands. George rushed out of the room, his face a bit perplex from my own perspective.

I stared at the digital clock that lay on the table. It was 12:23, about twenty minutes after lunch time. We've been here for nearly two hours, I didn't notice at all that time was moving so fast while we were inside this hospital.

"Let's get going, Steve," Claire said after she tapped my shoulders. I nodded, and went outside the door.

What we saw surprised me. George and Cindy stood there, only an inch apart, kissing passionately. They were completely unaware that both of me and Claire were standing just behind them; their attention fully concentrated into the constant contact of their lips with amazing compassion.

So, both of them had a relationship. And, both were too in love with each other that they'll actually kiss each other in public. I looked at Claire, and she looked at me. It was like we were thinking the same thing…

Jealousy.

We were both envious of them, they were a perfect couple. Me and Claire… We haven't even kissed once ever since we first met, but I knew very well that a romantic connection exists between both of us.

But still, I was happy for George, and Claire must be thinking the same thing with Cindy. And come to think of it, our pair _does_ have some similarity with theirs. Their love was ultimately created at a time where they are surrounded by despair and death, almost like how our own love formed back then.

"Ahem," Claire finally interrupted. Their kiss was almost endless, and we couldn't just stand there and watch until the world would come to an end.

They separated instantly once they heard Claire, both of them blushing, completely embarrassed.

"Here, George." Claire handed over the paper she wrote in to George, who gladly took it from her. "Th-thanks," He stuttered.

"Nice to meet you, Cindy. We have to go now, bye you two." Claire winked at Cindy, and then turned around, heading for the elevator.

"Thanks again George," I thanked him, "Good luck, both of you." I smiled at them before following Claire to the elevator. There, they stood idly when I glanced back at them, their expressions cheerful beyond any other I've ever seen. I couldn't help but grin at how adorable the two were, even for a guy like me. I entered the elevator, and the only person inside was Claire who held up the elevator door for me.

It was quiet inside. I wanted to talk to Claire badly, but that discouraging feeling I had when I was inside that truck had returned. I found myself just standing there, but I shook my head. It struck me: it was time to get rid of this feeling; it was time to confront her.

"Claire," I said nervously, "so… Want to get a burger or something?"

_Crap_. Just _crap_. The time I talk, all I was thinking about was food. It was lunch time anyway, but what the **hell** was I thinking?

"Sure, I guess we could spare some time. Let's also bring one home for Sherry as well." Claire did not glance at me as she said those words, but at least, she accepted my offer.

It was officially our very first, zombie-free date.

-End of Chapter 4

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**AN**: It's really weird that I get a bit lazy when I get to the ending parts of my chapters, and sometimes it's the whole chapter already. I know chapters two, three, and even this one is a bit messy (and contains some typos/mistakes here and there). I'll try and find time to rewrite or edit them later on.

Drackwolf: I've always wanted to use George (and Cindy) in this fanfic since he's my favorite character in the Outbreak series (Cindy's my second favorite or my most favorite female character out of all the others). And besides that… It's pretty much evident that they have some love connection with each other. :)


	5. Chapter 5: Lunchtime

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**Chapter 5: Lunchtime**

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"So, do you have a place in mind?" Claire asked. She held the steering wheel tightly with her right hand, and innocence was smothered all over her face as she stared at me straight in the eye, waiting for an answer.

I had no idea. There are tons of fast food restaurants that littered the city, but I was afraid that a restaurant I would decide on may be a bit too dull from Claire's point of view.

"I..." my voice trailed off, failing to give any answer.

"Can't think of any, eh? I thought so," She smirked.

She started the engine without saying any other word and drove to the end of the street. After a few minutes of constant left and right turns, Claire parked the truck in a secluded open space, away from the busy road.

"Come on, let's go," she ordered with a big grin. Both of us climbed out of the car, and we ambled back to the narrow sidewalk. When we got there, not a single eatery could be seen in the street.

"Here, Steve," she said as she started walking east. At the spur of the moment, I ran up to her and grabbed her warm hand and held it firmly, trying not to hurt Claire, since I'm predicting I would. She shot me with an awkward look, but was quickly replaced with a blissful expression after realizing why I've done it.

She tilted her head to the front again, and there I couldn't help but stare at her stunning features, both body and face alike as we had our very own romantic stroll. Her long, red hair tied into a ponytail, her innocent-looking blue eyes glistening from the afternoon sun, her youthful and admiring features… Even though she still appeared the same as always, I've never felt so gratified in my life every time I would see her.

It felt like… We really had a connection.

Claire abruptly curved to her right, causing me to stumble for a second, but still holding Claire's tender hand. I couldn't help but release my overwhelming hate over spoiling this precious moment through a shrill moan due to my utter clumsiness. Claire chuckled from my exaggerated reaction, thinking it sounded nearly the same as a zombie's, and I joined her in her quiet laughter. It was rather unusual that humor would suddenly just pop out of nowhere due to a simple mishap.

We strolled for quite a while as our hands were strongly clenched together, like they were entirely connected. It was odd that my mind couldn't linger off somewhere else.

I was totally and irrefutably in love with her.

And that's what counts. Nothing more could ever spoil our precious moment, except of course, our arrival at our destination. That came up in just a few minutes.

"We're here."

From the looks of it, Claire had chosen a diner for our lunch. I don't really care that much though, it's not like I could complain about it. I don't even have any money to spend, and it would be quite shameful to turn her down. Besides, Claire chose it, and I know it'll be great there.

"I've been eating here a lot back when I was a little kid," Claire reminisced, "Had my ten years of birthdays in this diner, from when I was six until sixteen."

"You must have a lot of good memories from that diner, don't you?" I asked her as she stared blankly at the entrance, possibly trying to recall her past experiences.

"Yeah, it's also the last place I met my brother… Once we got our last dinner together, he left just like that to Raccoon City to become a cop." She walked up to the large pole of the diner's sign and held it firmly, and looked above. There were neon lights up top that formed the diner's name, James' Diner.

"When I found out he got in trouble," Claire continued, her eyes fixed on the entrance of the diner again, "I went ahead to Raccoon City to find him, and then the outbreak happened. Thanks to Leon, Sherry and I got out of there alive."

I clenched my fists tightly and lowered my head at the mention of his name. The thought of Leon… Somehow it makes me jealous, the fact that he saved them, but me... I just had to be a pain in the ass for Claire ever since I met her.

"Don't be so envious, Steve, I know Leon's a bit too serious with all these anti-Umbrella movements than 'falling in love'," she said when she noticed my bloodshot eyes. I raised my head again and flashed a big grin to pretend I wasn't envious.

"I'm not," I said with a seemingly nervous voice. Claire raised a brow, doubting what I had said, but she chuckled.

"Steve, Steve, Steve, still the same guy who denies, denies, and denies. But hey, I've seen much improvement from you ever since we left Rockfort. I've noticed you've been quite mature over the past few hours," she pointed out.

"I guess you're right," I admitted. After thinking back, I really was naive, based from my behavior. But now, I'm assertive that my behavior had developed well over the past month. Well, who wouldn't improve after facing numerous amounts of monstrosities?

"Come on, Steve. We can't keep Sherry waiting for too long."

Claire entered through the double doors. I took a deep breath, and followed her inside.

Surprisingly, it was much better than I thought it would. The diner had a classy sense of style.

There were oak tables that are polished to a shine with comfy, plush chairs, several fluorescent lamps hanging on the ceiling, illuminating the whole restaurant with their strangely soothing glow, classic black and white tiled floors, vintage jazz instruments such as the saxophone and the bassoon set up as side decors across the walls, along with some novelty and valuable items.

The place was quite noisy at this time of day; there were lots of customers going back and forth through the whole building. People chattered continuously, their conversations overlapping each other, making it impossible to distinguish individual voices.

A bright-faced woman wearing a blue waitresses' dress noticed both of us, standing a few meters away from the entrance. Smiling, she went to us while holding a pitcher of beaming water. She was slender like Claire and had long, black hair, the ends of which reached her shoulders.

"Claire? Is that you? Gosh, it's been such a long time! How've you been?" She carefully placed the pitcher upon an open table and embraced Claire tightly. The fact that Claire was a long time customer, it didn't surprise me that she was famous around here.

"I'm doing fine, Lisa. How about you, still a waitress here in James'?" Claire asked after letting go of Lisa's warm, cordial embrace.

"Yeah, same old, same old. There _are _benefits though. I get paid like fifty bucks a day, James thinks I'm a customer hoarder," She said, laughing loudly. When she had stopped, her eyes swiftly caught mine. "Who's the cute guy? You're boyfriend?" She asked shamelessly.

"Sort of," Claire responded with a dull tone. I frowned at Claire's monotonous reply.

"Well, follow me, I'll lead you to your seats," She turned around, and with heavy stomps, she headed to a lone table across the entire diner.

Claire instantly sat down without any second thoughts, and quickly amused herself by mingling with the dining utensils that were all set beforehand. I, on the other hand, grinned at the waitress and took my seat, just across Claire's.

Lisa took out a notepad and held the end of her pencil to the paper like any other waitress or waiter who would take an order.

"So, what would you like? Romantic, lavender scented candles? And maybe some wine glasses and a bottle of red wine to go with it?" she teased, her voice almost squealing.

"No thank you, Lisa. I'll just take the usual." Her voice sounded serious, and oblivious to Lisa's attempt at making a joke.

"The usual? Still the same old you I guess…" Her smile had dissipated from her lively face, and wrote down hurriedly on her notepad.

She turned her head towards me with another smile again. "How about you, Mr. Cutie?"

I was extremely curious at Claire's usual choice, so instead of ordering myself a burger, I decided to try Claire's choice of food. "I'll take the exact same thing Claire's ordering."

I noticed Claire's eyes bulging out in shock after hearing my words. "I thought you wanted a burger?"

"I wanted to try what you like," I explained, "Burgers are boring for me now."

She laughed, her eyes nearly bursting into tears, thinking what I said was hilarious. Why would that be humorous in any sense at all?

"You'll regret it later, Steve-o," she said, and turned her attention back to Lisa. "Almost forgot, I'd also like a cheeseburger, just remove the cucumbers, since I'm bringing it home for a friend and she hates those. Takeout, if you would ask."

Lisa nodded and casually walked to the counter.

"What do you mean I'll regret it?" I asked Claire once Lisa was out of hearing range. She just smiled at me mockingly and kept silent. Her quiet smile only disturbed me much more, and I tapped the table with my fingers unendingly and furiously as I waited impatiently for our order.

"Special order, coming up!" It wasn't the waitress' voice anymore. It was heavy, sort of deep, and ruffled, like an old man. When I looked up, there he was. He was about six feet tall and had grey, messy hair. He had a beard so bushy I might just poke my hand right in there and come out with something. His face was riddled with wrinkles, but through it all, I could see a vivid smile forming. He was wearing a greasy apron and a chef's hat, and under the apron was a faded brown shirt and pants.

He held a tray like a waitress, and I didn't really know if he was teasing or not, but he looked like he did. I could smell a soothing and mouthwatering aroma coming from the tray, and I anticipated a very good meal up ahead.

"I knew you can't keep yourself from coming out of that kitchen, James." Claire was cheerful when she said those words.

"When I heard that order, I knew you were here! I couldn't help myself, being a very special customer and all." His laugh was oddly rough, a signal that he was probably in his mid-60's.

He placed the tray on the table, his hands trembling a bit, probably from the age. Right in front of me were two plates, both having the same content: a gravy-showered steak with mashed potatoes, a glass of milk, and an extra side-dish of sliced tomatoes. Everything looked normal, except for one thing.

"What's this yellow stuff?" I asked James. I noticed that there was a sprinkle of yellow tidbits throughout the steak.

"Oh, those are grinded Habanero peppers," he answered.

Somehow it reminded me of something, but my mind was acting funny, it wasn't functioning well to allow me to recognize what the Habanero pepper was. But I could feel my stomach churning at the thought of it…

I wonder why.

"You still up to it, Steve?" Claire said, challenging me.

"Its just a silly pepper, I could take anything spicy any day," I replied. I snatched the spoon up hastily, and took down a mouthful.

It turned out much worse than I expected.

I suddenly felt the burning sensation filling my mouth. It was like I had consumed fire, and it was unbelievably hot. I started waving my hands up and down and breathed in and out, desperately trying to ease down the burn. It felt like I literally ate fire.

"I knew it," Claire said, rolling her eyes and flashing a smile. I knew I've lost.

I gulped down on the glass of milk, emptying it in just seconds. I kept waving my hand; I couldn't stop, no matter how much I wanted to. It just felt so _hot_.

Claire began to dig in to hers. Her features remained intact at the contact of the grinded Habanero peppers inside her mouth. It was quite obvious that Claire was accustomed to eating these things.

I was able to gobble up the rest of my meal in one swoop, just so that I could show Claire that I could eat these. The pain started to rise, and before I knew it, I've already drank nearly eight glasses of milk, and the burn still didn't stop.

Claire kept chewing on her own food casually, and when she would drink her milk she would only take small sips. I cursed under my breath, and started to pound on the table with clenched fists. I actually had no idea why I did that.

"You're going to get fat drinking all that milk," Claire said after swallowing a mouthful of her steak. I ignored her though; I would literally do anything just so I could ease it down.

After about thirty, agonizing minutes and fifteen glasses of milk later, the pain finally subsided. Claire began to laugh with contentment. "Wow, I underestimated you Steve. Congrats." Her tone when she congratulated me sounded like an indication of ridicule.

"Shut up, Claire," I hissed at her in annoyance. She ignored me and kept on until Lisa arrived at our table.

"Here's your bill, and I'll take those plates if you don't mind." We both shook our heads, so Lisa went on ahead and grabbed the empty plates. Claire took the parchment that she placed on the table and began to take out money from her wallet.

I was amazed about how much money she had, I couldn't count them but I was sure that there were quite number of hundred dollar bills there. There could be thousands, but who would know?

"Didn't know you were that _rich_," I told her.

"Am not," she retorted, "It took me a long while to raise this much money."

"What do you do for a living anyway?"

"I run a motorcycle shop, and business is just going smoothly. Bikes are selling like wildfire during these times." She was too concentrated on her thoughts that I was afraid to ask something, but then she raised head and rested her chin upon her left hand.

"Steve… I wonder, since, you don't have anywhere to go now but with me, why don't you work in my shop? Just so you could earn a living. And hey, maybe we could raise enough for your college fund, right?"

College fund? It felt like forever since I thought about college. I thought I was trapped in that prison forever, but now that I'm back, I don't even know what to do with myself. I should've thought about what to do when I got out of there… Then at least I wouldn't sit here right now and just ponder about it.

"Sure, Claire. At least I'll spend time to be more useful around here than just be a constant pain in the-"

A sudden uproar of greetings suddenly smothered my words. My eyes started to search for the source, and there I found it. There, I saw a little boy, his face enlightened by the people that surrounded him, about to blow out a candle from a large chocolate cake.

"That reminds me," Claire began when she caught sight of the event, "When's your birthday, Steve? You already know mine, so why not share it with me?"

"My birthday's is coming around this February. I guess I'll be 18 then…"

"Then, advanced happy birthday Steve. Consider that as my greeting, don't expect I'll say it again."

After Lisa came back with a bag containing Sherry's burger and took the money, – along with nearly twenty bucks of tip –, Claire took the bag from Lisa's hands and stood up from her chair swiftly. "I'm sure Sherry's getting worried now. We better get going."

Claire glanced at Lisa's carefree face and shot her with a smile, and the waitress gladly nodded her head in agreement. I could easily understand their wordless communication – Claire thanked her. She handed the bag over to me before we went to the exit.

When we opened the double doors once again, a cold wind suddenly swept through us, brushing our hair lightly and giving shivers down my spine. I could tell that Claire must've felt the same too, but she pretended it didn't happen.

Somehow, I failed to notice the chilly weather before now. I knew it must be an after-effect when we stayed at that Antarctic Facility for too long. But seeing Claire, it could probably be just me. Or maybe it was another effect of that T-Veronica virus. I immediately shoved that thought away. I didn't want to think about that horrible virus, especially right now.

Claire quivered inconspicuously, but not for me. She was trying to hide her suffering, the harsh cold beating down on her frail skin. She folded her arms and tugged the collars of her jacket forcefully, trying to warm herself. It was the perfect chance to show my gallantry.

I wrapped my arm around the middle of her upper body (the end of which still holding the plastic bag containing Sherry's burger), and I placed my other hand on one of her arms as she cuddled into her jacket. Her skin was exceptionally cold, and I wondered if the contact of my skin did any good to warm her. I studied her features persistently, until finally she gave out a sigh of relief.

She nestled herself between the confines of her jacket and my right shoulder, and grinned. I never really did know how fragile she looked, no matter how adventurous she was. Her body was very slender, thinner than most women I've seen. Her arms were gentle and frail, and her pale skin was even and soft to touch. She desired to surpass her limitations, and from the looks of it, she was successful with that.

"Thank you," she whispered softly.

It was another stroll, though I constantly held her with my arm, trying to comfort her. The wandering eyes of the strangers we passed through were quite bothering if I say so myself. But Claire kept her pace and continued to lay the side of her head on my shoulders.

When we arrived at the truck, Claire was particularly absent-minded. She was silent, and the grin on her face continued to exist. Carefully, I pushed her from my shoulders, and when I did, she instantly shook her head. "Sorry," she apologized, and began to flush.

Our eyes met suddenly.

We gazed at each other's eyes for a long moment, our jaws locked and features remained unchanged. I couldn't count; did it last for about twenty seconds or did it last for nearly a minute? Each of our stares appeared blank, and I know she was thinking the same thing. Both of our minds just drifted off, but I was still aware that my face was only an inch away from hers.

I could feel the tempo of my heart starting to increase, then decrease, then increase again. It was acting erratically, and I don't think it's possible for a normal heart to do that. Were my mixed emotions affecting it?

It was then when she took the first action.

The tingling touch of her lips made contact with mine so quickly. At first I didn't respond with my own, but when she started to raise her eyelids to see why I didn't, I began. It was enthralling and intense, much more than I've expected. My emotions started to flow freely across my body – a mixture of pleasure, happiness, contentment, love… Yet there were disappointment and fear, two feelings I could not just get rid of so easily.

She wrapped my arms around my neck, and I replied by running my fingers through her silky hair. All of my concentration was spent on that very kiss, that very first kiss. I wanted it to stay that way; I wanted it to just last so much until I was satisfied. But she pulled away from me, and the heat went down drastically.

"I'm sorry," she apologized once again. "I shouldn't have…" She looked away from me, looking down and gazing at an imaginary crack on the pavement. I gently raised her chin, and locked my eyes on hers.

"You didn't do anything wrong, what are you apologizing for?" I asked her, my tone awkwardly passive. I tried my best to comfort her, but nevertheless, I wasn't actually lying either.

She ignored my question. "We should get going," she said once again and walked to the car. I frowned at how she repeated the same words over and over again throughout our date. If she regarded it as a date, that is. Before she climbed onto the front seat, she called me.

"I had fun. Let's do this again next time." She slid herself into the car afterwards, her merry expression disappearing along with her whole body through the obstruction of the hazy windshield.

-End of Chapter 5

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**A/N:** This took a long, long while to update, sorry about that. I've been quite busy with my school work for the past month.

This chapter is actually longer than I've expected, usually it would take about 2000 words per chapter, but now it got up to 3500! Consider it as a compensation for failing to update it for nearly a month…

I was actually considering removing that habanero pepper part since I thought it was absolutely ridiculous and lame, lol. But I guess I didn't… No idea why.

Anyways, thank you very much for the reviews! I'll try and update this story as much as I can.


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